High IL-21 receptor expression and apoptosis induction by IL-21 in follicular lymphoma.
Akamatsu N,
Yamada Y,
Hasegawa H,
Makabe K,
Asano R,
Kumagai I,
Murata K,
Imaizumi Y,
Tsukasaki K,
Tsuruda K,
Sugahara K,
Atogami S,
Yanagihara K,
Kamihira S.
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan.
We surveyed IL-21 receptor (IL-21R) in leukemia and lymphoma and found that follicular lymphoma cells showed exceptionally high IL-21R expression. Notably, IL-21 showed divergent effects depending on the cell origin: growth stimulation in Burkitt lymphoma cell lines and adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma cell lines but induction of apoptosis in B lymphoma cell lines with t(14;18)(q32;q21), a marker karyotype of follicular lymphoma. IL-21 activated caspase-8 and -3 and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential. More importantly, IL-21 decreased Bcl-2 expression but increased Bax expression. These results support a new therapeutic approach using the IL-21/IL-21R system in follicular lymphoma.
PMID: 17624663 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]